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Sara didn t owe him a damn thing.
He cleared his throat, shooting her a beseeching glance. I m not
asking you to forgive or even forget the things that have happened in the
past. I know it wasn t easy for you after Audrey died. Part of that was my
fault, by not being there. All I ask is that you hear me out. I d like to tell
you my side of things before you form any opinions about me.
You think I haven t already formed an opinion about you? Like I
haven t had any time in the last two decades to think about it?
I just meant that I would like the chance to explain before you form
any new ones.
Fine, Sara replied shortly. How do I even know you are who you
claim to be?
My name is on your birth certificate.
I m sure there is more than one man named John Ramsey in this
country.
All right. Your birthday is August first. Your mother s name was
Audrey Rose. We named you after my mother Sarah and since we
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Missing In Action
couldn t think of a good middle name I talked your mother into using
hers. That s how you came to be Sara Rose.
Most of that can be found in public record, you could have made the
rest up.
You were born with a small heart-shaped birthmark on your behind.
Another strawberry-shaped one on the inside of your right thigh.
Tristan could have told you that. Sara was getting a perverse
satisfaction out of making him uncomfortable.
He didn t, Ramsey said, tugging on his collar.
There s no way I can know that for sure.
Fine. He was silent for a moment. Right before I left, I gave your
mother a locket. Instead of putting photos in it like most people, she kept
a lock of our entwined hair inside it.
Sara rubbed her chest, where the locket lay safe between her breasts.
He couldn t know that unless he d been the one to do it. The hair
clippings were long gone, buried with her mom, but Sara had kept the
locket. It was always with her, she never took it off. Tristan knew about
the locket itself, but not the locks of hair once inside.
The man really was her father. Why did that make her want to strike
out at him more?
Does that convince you?
Sara nodded. A million questions she d always wanted answered
filtered through her mind. She didn t ask any of them. Her childhood
musings could continue to go unanswered. She could only think of one
question that was relevant at the moment.
Why? she asked. Why are you contacting me now, after all these
years?
There never seemed to be a good time before.
And you re saying that you think now, with everything that s already
going on, is a good time for you to drop this bomb in my lap?
This opportunity is the best one I ve found. Once I have explained
you will understand better.
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Amanda Young
Sara sat back against the chair, her arms crossed over her chest. I m
all ears.
As you already know, Shame and Tristan work under my direction.
What you don t know is how or why that came to pass. He took a deep
breath, his eyes glazing over in a faraway look.
When I met your mother I was involved in a classified research
program. By that time I d been involved in the project for the better part
of a decade. What started out as recumbent DNA research with my
mentor, Steven Hawkins, had morphed into full-scale human cloning.
Way ahead of our time, we were already working on human cloning
specifically for use in organ transplantation. In the seventies most other
scientists were just beginning to work on genetic manipulation. Together,
Steven and I far surpassed that.
Sara opened her mouth, ready to say bullshit, but stopped when he
held a hand up, effectively shushing her.
As I was saying, we were already ahead of the game when I met your
mom. I told her what I told everyone else, that I was a research assistant
helping to develop new prescription drugs. She took me at my word and
let it go. There was no reason for her to suspect anything else.
Why lie about it? Sara asked.
I m sure you remember the controversy surrounding Dolly, the first
successfully cloned sheep in 96. Imagine what it would have been like
for the public to know scientists were already working on humans over
twenty years earlier. The religious outrage over the world s first healthy
delivery of an IVF baby in 77 was enough to warn us off going public.
Okay, I get it. Go on, Sara said. She was impatient to hear what all
this had to do with her mother and Tristan.
So we kept our work quiet. For several years I was able to maintain a
normal life with Audrey, no one being the wiser about my secret career
choice. When you were about two, Steven suffered a massive stroke and
passed away. Being the only other person working on our project it was
only natural that I would take it over.
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